Rest In Peace, Farrah and Michael

An early thought I had at the news of his passing: What will happen to Michael Jackson’s three children? Apparently, he is the only parent they have known. As strange as his adult life always was, as troubled as Michael was, it seems he loved his children, in large part being quite protective of them when it came to their privacy (although there is the incident where he dangled his youngest son from a Berlin hotel window). Yes, he has been accused of child molestation, but in our western world we luckily have the right to a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. He was a child that never really had the opportunity to grow into an emotionally mature adult, never having had a so-called normal childhood. Some say he was still a ten-year-old boy. They say he was a “Peter Pan”. There is probably some truth to this.

Who will seek custody of the three?—the third, cynically known as “Blanket” in the media, was apparently adopted from Europe, ancestry unknown. Will it be Debbie Rowe?, someone from the Jackson clan? Likely, where the children go, the money will go. Yes, his estate is apparently heavily in debt. Does it still own the Beatles catalogue? (Commonly it is believed Michael Jackson bought out all of their songs and owns the copyrights, but, in reality, he owns only 50% of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which in turn owns most of the Beatles publishing rights. Paul McCartney, as well as Lennon’s Estate still retain the songwriting rights and receive about 50% of the ongoing publishing revenues for composing the music). Michael’s royalties will continue to come after all the debts are dealt with. How many fans who bought tickets to the fifty sold-out shows(!) will seek reimbursement? I wouldn’t be surprised if many fans decide to keep the tickets as souvenirs, willing to take a financial hit for the now “no shows”.

I’m not a fan of his adult music hits, although I acknowledge that he was extremely talented. His shows, including the one in Vancouver back in November 1984, changed the pop music business forever, in more ways than one—showmanship, stage, lighting, effects, marketing; pushing the industry to new heights of achievement. He deserves the title of “King of Pop”. It is apparent many, many around the world are able and willing to overlook, see past, his many shortcomings, to focus, justifiably, on his amazing talent. I am a fan of his early stardom, even as I admit this did deny him a normal, healthy childhood. I remember such hits as “I Want You Back”, “ABC”, “The Love You Save”, and “I’ll Be There”.

In the late 1990s I knew an English woman (my deceased fiancée; from Bradford, Yorkshire) who moved to the Detroit area in early 1968, finishing high school in Ferndale, Michigan. She graduated Grade 12, then learned her way into a secretarial job at Motown Records, founded by Berry Gordy, Jr., with his publishing company, Jobete Music. She recounted stories of the famous Motown talent that passed through the offices of the agency. Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye were the nicest, most gracious men she met there, in particular Smokey; the Jackson 5 were a talented family group but their dad was apparently a tyrant—accusations and stories—it seems likely the emotional and physical abuse have haunted and tormented Michael all his life.

Farrah Fawcett passed away earlier in the day, yesterday morning. I was one of the many adolescent boys in the 1970s who had her famous bikini poster up on their bedroom wall (iconic 1976 poster of Farrah Fawcett, first published in Life magazine in 1976, the best-selling pin-up poster of all time, with more than 12 million copies sold). Although I did not generally watch or have access to TV, I still knew of her enough to admire her flawless beauty. Many girls at the time had to have her hair style, and did, whether with it they looked good or not. I saw maybe one or two episodes of Charlie’s Angels at one or another friend’s house. Farrah only participated for one season of the show, 1976-1977. She starred in a number of theatrical and television movies over the years. And, for a while I did have a copy of the December 1995 issue of Playboy magazine, where she posed nude, causing an uproar in some quarters. It became the best-selling issue of the 1990s with over four million copies sold worldwide.

She bravely, heart-achingly, revealed her hardships and challenges battling cancer.

Farrah’s impact, as pop culture figure and sex symbol, was particularly strong on the Generation Jones teens of the 1970s, my generation. With the passing of these two popular culture icons, the 1970s and the 1980s are officially over.

I, for one, twenty years from now, will remember who died the same day as Michael Jackson.

Rest In Peace, Farrah and Michael.

Michael Joseph Jackson (Friday, August 29th, 1958-Thursday, June 25th, 2009), age 50

Farrah Leni Fawcett (Sunday, February 2nd, 1947-Thursday, June 25th, 2009), age 62